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Political Prisoner Birthday Poster For January 2017

Hello Friends and Comrades,

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for January.(11″x17″ PDF, 5MB) Also available in color here, and as a PNG here (imgur link). Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night. Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list (not a listserv, one email per month), or if you would like to contribute in another way to increasing the profile of US political prisoners, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

A special thank you to the designers of this month’s poster. Designers are constantly bombarded with requests to work their trade for free, for publicity, or for a cause, and every month the PPBD Posters project relies on their generosity of time, skill and devotion to the cause of prison abolition. Cheers to Jenna Peters-Golden for putting this month’s rad poster together.

Let’s help 2017 go in like a lion with this year’s New Year’s Eve Noise Demonstrations. In the words of comrades in Montreal: “Prisons were created to isolate people from their communities. Noise demonstrations at prisons are a material way to fight against repression and isolation. We want to extend a message of solidarity to folks inside, and wish them a happy new year. Although, a truly happy new year would be one without prisons and the world that needs them.” Here’s a list of events we were able to find, but check in with the prison abolition group in your area to see where you can get plugged in:

Do you need help advertising for your local Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night? Are you interested in distributing physical copies of the poster? Write to us and let’s find a way to get physical copies of our poster to you: ppbirthday@riseup.net

We recently updated our prisoner list, and this poster does not feature two people we think deserve your support. Help them celebrate their birthdays this year as well!

January 4, 1950Fran Thompson
#1090915
Chillicothe Correctional Center
3151 Litton Drive
Chillicothe, MO 64601
freefran.noblogs.org
Fran Thompson is serving life plus 10 years for killing a stalker who had made threats against her life after he broke into her home. Fran was a dedicated eco, animal & anti-nuke campaigner and had seen her prosecutor before on the other side of a protest. Her activism was brought up as a scare tactic to increase her sentencing and bias her jury.

January 18, 1995Janye Waller
#BA2719
CCC B Facility
Post Office Box 2400
Susanville, CA 96127
handsoffjanye.tumblr.com
In Oakland in 2015, a white liberal confronted several black liberation demonstrators protesting against non-indictments of police murderers. He shoved and swung fists at the young men to pacify them, one of whom retaliated with a hit from the head of a hammer to his head. Police said Janye Waller “fit the description” of that young black male. Despite witnesses denying his involvement, he was convicted of the assault. Before his arrest, Janye volunteered at a West Oakland social center that empowers black and indigenous people through education, mutual aid, urban farming, and community autonomy.